The present invention contemplates a method and apparatus for filling boxes or receptacles with discrete articles such as fruit in which a selected number of fruit are counted and fill the box. The invention contemplates a novel method and apparatus in which the box may be rapidly filled and the fruit subjected to vibration with side and end flaps of an inside box part in closed relation so that during vibrations part of the box may be continuously advanced and pressure applied to the closed side and end flaps of the inner box part to push the inner box part downwardly into the outer box part and to apply progressively increasing vertical pressure to the vibrated fruit through the closed upper end of the inner box part.
Prior proposed apparatuses and methods for filling a box of a selected volume and size with discrete fruit or articles have included hand packing the fruit in the box by arranging the fruit in layer patterns which were predetermined according to the size and number of the fruit required to fill such a box. Such hand packed boxes required skilled packers to rapidly arrange the fruit in the predetermined layer patterns and to maintain over many packing hours a suitable packing rate. Such hand packed filled boxes were usually boxes of a standard size and volume.
Other prior proposed apparatuses for packaging a selected number of fruit in a box have included the use of individual suction cups for individual placement of fruit in a box in accordance with a prearranged selected pattern. The suction cup method simulated the hand packing method because each fruit was individually placed in the box. Such a method of packing the box was also time consuming.
Other prior proposed methods of packaging fruit in a box have included feeding the fruit into the box by a vertically disposed fruit conveyor in which the box was raised to a box receiving position with respect to the fruit conveyor and then as the fruit was successively deposited in the box, the box was lowered step by step to receive additional fruit. See U.S. Pat. No. 2,061,490.
In still another prior proposed construction, a bucket type elevator transferred and lowered fruit into the box and then was progressively raised as the level of articles deposited therein increased. See U.S. Pat. No. 2,889,676. In still another prior proposed construction for filling boxes with discrete articles, a box was raised so that the bottom end of a vertically disposed bucket conveyor could deposit articles in the bottom of the box, the box being progressively lowered as the box was gradually filled. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,285.
In a still further prior proposed construction for filling boxes with citrus fruit, a box which may have been filled by any one of the prior methods, except hand packing, described above was placed in a vibrating station with the box top open and as the box was vibrated at a certain frequency a vertically movable platen was lowered to apply pressure to the top layer of fruit and at a frequency of the same amplitude and phase as that of the vibrated box so as to facilitate movement of the fruit into the desired tightly packed pattern or arrangement. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,566,579.
In some of the prior proposed apparatuses, the box is vibrated while the box is being filled. Under these conditions, the fruit has difficulty making a tight pack and the box is usually of a larger size and volume than a standard size box which would have been hand packed. The additional cost of a larger volume box may be only from four to six cents per box, but in view of the thousands of boxes packaged the savings of four to six cents per box and utilizing a standard size box is substantial to the packing house. Moreover, the packing house does not need to carry two different sized boxes in inventory. The present invention contemplates packaging with a standard size box.